Allegri: Juventus must be near Serie A summit by March

Massimiliano Allegri is confident that Juventus will be near the top of the Serie A table by March.

The Turin side have endured a tough start to the 2015-16 season, despite winning the domestic double and reaching the Champions League final in Allegri’s first campaign at the helm.

Juve president Andrea Agnelli has insisted that the losses of Arturo Vidal, Carlos Tevez and Andrea Pirlo are not an acceptable excuse for the club’s current Serie A position of 14th.

The coach agreed with the comments but expects his team to turn things around gradually and be back towards the summit by March.

“As I’ve already said, we ought to have more points right now, regardless of the changes to the squad,” Allegri said on Saturday.

“I agree with the president. Juventus should not be in this position.

“We need to secure a second consecutive home win in Serie A to follow up our last result.

“We have already found good defensive solidity in the latest matches, now we have to improve in attack.

“At Christmas we need to be better placed in the league, we cannot think of fighting back that quickly. Then, around March, we must be in and around the front-runners.”

Allegri defended striker Mario Mandzukic from criticism over his impact since arriving from Atletico Madrid, stating he has already proved he can score in big games.

“So far he has not played much in the league, but he has had a good scoring record in important games against Manchester City and Lazio in the Supercoppa,” Allegri added.

“He has been injured but has done work with the team.”